“If you look at property tax on a per-dollar evaluation basis, we have the second-lowest property tax, second only to Johnson County,” Meier said.

Water supply is an ever-present issue. No river runs nearby. Water comes primarily from wells.

The city purchased a ranch southwest of Kinsley a decade ago with the intention of developing it as a water source. Now is the time to make that happen, Meier said.

The estimated cost of conversion and building a pipeline is $70 million, and the city expects to pay cash for the work.

“There’s a lot of things that stop cities from growing, but if you don’t have water, you’re not going to grow,” Meier said.

Meier loves and misses Marion, he said.

“I wish there would have been a way for me to come back there,” he said. “I really like Central Park and also the aquatic center. My 9-year-old daughter always wants to have her birthday party there. The high school debate program was probably the best thing to prepare people for life.”